Syracuse drops 4th straight game, this time to Miami, 3-1

Syracuse (17-12, 9-7 Atlantic Coast) was defeated by Miami (17-5, 11-5 Atlantic Coast) in four sets on Sunday afternoon at the Knight Center Complex in Coral Gables, Florida. It was the Orange’s fourth consecutive loss. After taking the first set, 25-21, SU lost three straight, 17-25, 13-25, 12-25.

Kendra Lukacs, Amber Witherspoon and Santita Ebangwese each tallied seven kills for SU, with Annie Bozzo providing the service (25 assists). Witherspoon and Ebangwese combined for 10 blocks, while Belle Sand helmed the back line with 19 digs. Syracuse finished with a .090 hitting percentage, its second-lowest mark of the season.

The Hurricanes got out a 6-1 lead after a ball handling and two attack errors by the Orange. Then, Miami committed a service error and three straight attack errors, allowing SU to even the score at six. With the score knotted at 16, Syracuse scored five of the game’s next seven points off kills from four different players and went on to win the set, 25-21. Lukacs led the way for the Orange in the opening set with five kills.

Two Christina Oyawale attack errors and a bad set from Annie Bozzo allowed Miami to hop out to a 5-2 lead in the second set. Syracuse managed to level the score at eight before the ‘Canes powered an 8-1 run. Two Madison Dill kills and three service aces helped maintain the lead for the hosts who went on to win the set 25-17.

The Orange went down early again in the third set after Miami went on an 8-2 run. For the rest of the set, SU’s points were few and far between thanks to the Hurricanes’ stifling defense that forced seven attack errors. Syracuse scored two points in a row just once the entire set and went on to get blown out, 25-13.

Miami’s Olga Strantzali registered seven kills in her team’s first 15 points of the fourth set, as the hosts jumped out to a 15-9 lead. After an Amber Witherspoon block, the ‘Canes scored 11 of the game’s final 12 points, winning the set 25-12. Four different Miami hitters tallied at least two kills, and three different players recorded a service ace in the final set.